Sunday, September 11, 2011

Individual vs. Society - Intro + Working Thesis

To what extent should individuality be compromised for the larger needs of the group and society?


-The Bennet family is a perfect example of the struggles between individuality and conforming to society. The family presents these struggles from different angles. Elizabeth Bennet is on the side of the individual. Elizabeth believes that marriage is not for economic sustainability, but for love. Her view of marriage clearly differs from her mother, who is on the opposite side of the spectrum. Mrs. Bennet feels as though marriage should be strictly for economic sustainability. Granted, her role as a mother is to make sure her daughters grow up and have successful lives, so wanting her daughters to marry for economic reasons is acceptable. Balancing out the two extremes are Mr. Bennet and Jane Bennet. Mr. Bennet leans more towards the side of the individual; however, he still wants to see his daughters marry. Jane, on the other hand, wants to marry for the economic sustainability; however, she does have feelings for Mr. Bingley. Individuality should only be somewhat compromised for the larger needs of the group and society as long as one's morals are not lost, which is seen in all aspects of the Bennet family.

1 comment:

  1. Sum: Individuality should only be somewhat compromised, but not one’s morals. (Keep trying to word your claim so that it sounds more definitive, even though you are trying to look at both sides of the issue, which you should. Careful of listing every example: instead of listing, try to shape your examples to help develop your best ideas.)

    ReplyDelete